Stiener,

Depending on what you want to spend you could do a sucker trick. that always works well. There is suker die box easy to learn and do, Baxt has a great sucker pop can routine and it is about 100 dollars, Their is always a backstage type sucker trick with a jumbo card dissapering. So there are some ideas. Hope you do well.

Tom James

Add a little comedy, as someone said above, that is a big plus. Do something pretty visual to your audience, screw knucklebusters, do something easy and hard hitting, and UNDERSTANDABLE. There is no need to do a complex routine. Simplicity is magic in its truest form, or something like that.

Keep it real,
James Watkins

How about some of Andrew Mayne's stuff at

http://www.weirdthings.com

He has a lot of inexpensive easy to build illusions that are supposed to be great.

How about an energetic, full-view escape?

When I was a Freshman in high school, I performed in the talent show with Abbott's Arrow Head Illusion and the Ghost Walks Escape (Abbott's version of the Torture Board)to an enthusiastic response.

The next year I did a straitjacket escape with even greater impact.

My school's talent shows had some really good performers, including some first rate garage bands, yet my magic and escapes got the biggest response and, I'm told, created the most talk afterward.

Also, my shows were just that...shows; there was no competition or prizes involved.

Steve

Dale,

What kind of budget are you working with? Also, is it a show or a contest? If it's a contest, are you aiming to:

a) win the contest?
b) win the approval of your peers?
c) win the favor of the girls?
d) all of the above

You're a senior in high school. Use the talent show to leave your legacy. Stand out. Get noticed. Start rumors. Be remembered. And make a noise big enough to be heard for the years of talent shows to come.

Floating rose? Yes. Girls go nuts over it and guys wish they could do it.
Zombie? A big No.
Bill transportation? Good, but not enough.
Die box? Gimme a break.
Cups and Balls? Not so much.
Straight Jacket? Kiss the prom goodbye.
Linking rings? You can't be serious.
Needle thru arm? That's an image you want the girls to remember you for... "I like to cut myself. Wanna go out?"
Change bag? (insert your own joke here)

As for music, find out what kind the hottest girls like. Then model your selections after those and BANG!, instant common level of relatedness. That means "instant connection."

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you have fun doing it. If you're having fun, then your audience will too. Just don't be ordinary. Be extraordinary.

And be yourself. No matter what happens, they can't take that away from you.

Break a thread!

-E

Appearing/disappearing candle routines?

This all depends whether it is a talent show, or talent contest.

For my senior talent contest, I did a card in soup can trick, and made a dog appear on stage.

Floating rose definately. So effective.

If you wanna get good with zombie ball get jeff McBrides art of stage magic vol 3 as zombie is described in full + things with canes silks and the best one yet that I love the dancing cane.as for tricks for your talent show I recomend the dancing cane and a great one I did recently andrew maynes bisction (cut yourself in half with no fancy props)all the best let us all know how it goes chris webb

If you got the money go for the Pro Viper II This is a great effect but its pricey but you'll have it forever its $400 so go for this if you have the money comedy and suspense and magic all in 1

No offense to MaGishN46 (cool screen-name), but this is a talent show. My advice save as much money as you can. I am sixteen, and I won the Greenwood talent show with Card Manipulation, Stratosphere, Billiard Balls, and a Chick Pan. Show them something that screams, "I am talented!" and is still incredibly entertaining.

Normally I don't believe in copying. Originality is important to strive toward, however, since this is a school talent, with a 'lay' audience unfamilar with magic, copying Jeff McBride's DVD/VHS Magic on Stage opening or Commando Act is a good start for a beginner learning magic.

Jeff has perfected it and copying teaches one all the basics moves, and presentation of an artist. Recogize this as a learning tool and try to comprehend why Jeff has combined these effects. You also must recogize as a copier, you will not make it far in the magic field and looked down upon by brother magi. This is why it is important to learn these moves then change them to become your own. (I learned just about every coin move in Tarbell, (vol-1)then developed my own routine.)

Once you've master these skills, combine others and develop your own routine. This is a good beginning.

Good luck with your comp Steiner, Jc

Hmm good question..

Do you have anything you ahve been working on for a long time.. Keep your magic very visual... And always ask youself this... IF I could really do magic what would it look like? Would I have this giant box??? because your guests will tell thereself ,, If I had that box (prop) I could do that too..

The floating rose is great,, natural prop, what about rope through body, needle through balloon the invisable deck.. Do two tricks not one... if you mess up one you have to have the other to win them over...

OH my favorite trick I used in a talent contest in school was where I poured milk into a cup and put it over the teachers head. and forgot how to do the trick... which the milk turns in rice.. Standard milk picture any magic shop will have one.. Although I have devolped other very powerful ways through the years..

Cheers
Curtis Eugene Lovell II
http://www.MagicofCurtis.com

I think it's best to do stuff that isn't hard to transport, allowing you many opportunities to hone the material in front of an audience. There are many routines that allow this: Linking Rings, Egg Bag, many rope routines, jumbo card routines, mentalism, etc.

It pays to analyze routines after performances to try to come up with solutions on how to eliminate the weak spots and give the routine more impact. All of my routines go much further than what was described on a video or in a book. It takes time to make a routine your own.

Well, how did it go? Need some closure here! People, come back and finish of these threads will you? Hope it all worked out!